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Golden Ten Data, May 21 – Market analysts state that one factor supporting a more hawkish outlook for the Federal Reserve is the improvement signals coming from the labor market. At the Federal Reserve’s March meeting, officials only had access to the disappointing February employment report. According to the minutes of the March meeting, many officials at the time were concerned that “labor market conditions appeared vulnerable to adverse shocks.” However, based on the most recently released minutes from the April meeting, by the time of the April meeting, Federal Reserve officials had already received a more optimistic March report, and most regarded this data as evidence of stabilization. Following the Federal Reserve’s April meeting, the strong April employment report released earlier this month further indicated that the labor market may be stabilizing.

The United States Senate Commerce Committee held a hearing on issues related to the prediction market industry, focusing on cheating scandals, advertising practices, and the potential impact on the gambling industry. Meanwhile, the latest version of the Parity Act has updated language related to payment stablecoins and requires the IRS to report on the implementation of the de minimis exemption.

BlockBeats News, May 21st. Federal Reserve officials' concerns about the Iran war driving up inflation last month have been further exacerbated, with an increasing number of officials suggesting the Fed should pave the way for a possible interest rate hike. This indicates that the incoming Fed Chair, Powell, will take over a decision-making team that is increasingly leaning hawkish. Furthermore, the minutes of the meeting in April showed that if inflation continues to remain above the 2% target, further policy tightening may be necessary. The minutes revealed: "To address this possibility, many participants indicated that they would be inclined to remove language suggesting a bias toward accommodation in future interest rate decisions." This Fed meeting minutes, considered the "most serious divergence in generations," further revealed the two major shifts in preparation for Powell's tenure: a hawkish camp that is growing in size, remaining vigilant against inflation sparked by the Iran war, and opposing any rate cut discussions, and a dovish camp that still leans towards rate cuts but is dwindling. The main reason pushing policymakers further towards a hawkish stance remains inflationary pressures, which have been further exacerbated by the war. The minutes showed that the April meeting was the second consecutive meeting where more policy officials thought that if inflation remained persistently above target, a rate hike might be warranted.